Most recaps begin with what happened coming down the stretch, how the Clippers handled the pressure, if they folded or withstood the heat, but I want to talk about the first quarter, well, first. That, my friends, was the best quarter I’ve ever seen from the Clippers.

Consider the circumstances: for the first time since 2006 the Clips have an aura of excitement surrounding the team, and everyone in the NBA knows who Blake Griffin is. He’s a man, a beast, a force, a unicorn, whatever you want to call him, he’s a great player. Even more, the Clippers had won 7 of their last ten, showing the foundations of a good basketball team. Then the Heat were playing spectacular basketball, after a 9-8 start, they are rattling off wins, 21 in the last 22. Even still, they know who the Clippers are, I mean, LeBron included the Clippers in his six potential landing areas for his Free Agency. He knows what’s going on here.

Don’t think the fans forgot what he did either.

To add even more to the anticipation of this game, LeBron had tweeted (although he tried to weasel out of the responsibility of the tweet) a quote about Karma during the Lakers historic demolition of the Cavs. Safe to say, everyone around the country not from Miami, Florida was rooting for the Clippers to put LeBron in his place.

And guess what? The Clippers more than lived up to the expectations, they delivered retribution.

The excitement reverberated in the building, possibly the reason that Blake missed his first shot so horribly, he was jacked to play. The Clippers looked tight. When LeBron touched the ball, the whole stadium booed to remind him that they also don’t take kindly to the bait and switch. Arroyo got a quick deuce, Baron turned the ball back over and there were some quick nerves and anxiety as Gordon fouled Wade on the touch.

And then it turned.

Baron dished off to Blake for two. Next possession the Heat were caught sleeping on transition D and Ryan Gomes swishes an open corner two. Then the next possession the Clippers passed the ball around the perimeter until the shot clock was down and Baron swishes a three. (I’m okay with this shot, it wasn’t bad, he might have been able to get something better, but it’s at least understandable) Baron goes back to facilitator mode and he alleys to DeAndre’s oop, the fans at this point are nervously excited. Are the Clippers actually doing this, taking it to the Heat? Better enjoy it now. But it didn’t stop. Baron drove right back to the hoop for an “and 1.” Blake made one of two free throws before he slid in a hyper-quick drive to the basket and the foul. He was standing at the free throw line when Gordon zipped it to him and he lept directly at the basket, drew the foul and made the shot, even made the free throw. Clips up 16-11. The entire stadium was starting to boil, burble and question: Could this really be happening? Everyone wanted to scream, to jump and the Clippers, rarely a team to deliver in this moment, handed the ball off to DeAndre on the baseline for the monster jam. They weren’t cheers, so much as raucous, joyous bellows. 18-13. The Clippers didn’t hold back even as Dwyane Wade jammed what might normally have been a momentum changing dunk because Baron returned right back to the basket for a driving layup, and the Heat called timeout. This was supposed to cool the Clippers off, didn’t happen. Gordon got the ball and flipped in a high-arching floater just inside the right elbow, drawing the foul. The Clips went right back to Gordon before Baron Davis turned back the clock and took a DeAndre feed right to the hole for the crushing dunk. The Clips just kept going and going. Nothing could stop them. Even with VDN calling timeout with 2:33 to regroup, you’d think that there might be a settling, but the Clippers scored another 12 points, highlighted by a collected three by Bledsoe, a heady dish by Foye to Farouq for a corner three and the Blake steal that almost included Foye in the dunkfest as he layed the ball in for a 44 to 26 lead.

Let’s do a simple statistical recap of that period. The Clippers beat the best team in the league 44-26, they shot 17 for 22, 14 of those makes were assisted, including4 of 5 shooting from downtown and only 2 turnovers. Just wow.

Obviously, there is going to be a letdown after that first quarter. It’s almost impossible to maintain that type of pace (seriously, on pace for 176 points?!), but the Clippers had their standard third quarter breakdown in the last 9 minutes of the second quarter, making for a nerve-wracking halftime and setting the expectations pretty low for the second half. The Heat found Wade for 11 points, some on drifting-to-his-left floaters, some on drives to the rim, showing off his versatility, and then they returned to LeBron James to close out the half with 8 points and an assist. Combined with Baron going from the Good Baron we’ve seen lately, to Hero Baron and shooting 1-6 closing out the half, I’m sure more than a few fans had flashbacks of last year’s game against LeBron’s Cavs. Were the Clippers going to screw this up again?

The last moment that got the fans out of their seats, before the lead began to dwindle rapidly, was when Bledsoe had the chase-down block on Mario Chalmers. Just like the Nuggets game, Bledsoe found a way to be very effective in the game despite not playing big minutes. His play wasn’t enough, the Clips tripped up, fumbled the lead away.

Even through the third, the lead that was once 21 melted. I’d be shocked if there were any Clippers fans surprised by this. The third quarter has been the Clips nemesis, while the Heat have relished it. It started with seven made free throws in the third, hoary digs at the Clipper lead, knocking them off balance for what could have been a knock out punch: LeBron finished a Blake-esque alley-oop and then Baron Davis threw the ball right into Dwyane Wade’s hands, who drove down and was fouled. He made both free throws. The Clippers only led by 3.

This is where Eric Gordon’s underrated talent comes through. He quietly keeps the Clippers in the game. Even with the shot clock winding down, he slithered through the Heat defense for an opposite footed finger-roll over Zydrunas Ilgauskus. In those last 17 minutes of the game, when the Clippers needed a leader and were, at times, faltering, Gordon scored 14 points with a mixture of attacks and long range makes. His swerving, hand switching layup with just under 3 minutes left recharged the Clippers belief that they could win the game.

Gordon wasn’t the only factor down the stretch, Bledsoe stuffed LeBron and, on another possession, stole the ball and fed it to Farouq for the dunk. Baron scored 6 in the fourth, and that included Blake’s highlight dunk (plus Mario Chalmers staredown). But when the Clippers needed to go to someone for steadying points, Gordon was there. He might not be the vocal leader, but he is the proverbial quiet assassin that the team needs to win games.

Thoughts:

- Bledsoe. Yes, he only shot 1 for 5, but he played so well tonight, blocking two huge shots (the chasedown on Mario and the end of the third swat on none other than LeBron) and had a huge steal that led to Aminu’s slam. He served out 4 assists in only 16 minutes and never looked out of control.

- Baron. I know he made some shots, but I don’t like this trend. Facilitator Baron turned into Hero Baron pretty quickly and it could have gotten ugly. He was a large part of the Clippers first quarter explosion, frequently attacking the rim and passing to teammates for open shots. But afterward the first quarter he settled for too many longer shots before he remembered in the 4th quarter that he’s best in attack mode. Some shots were mandatory, like the early three, but there were others that weren’t like the baseline fade-away that preceded the late in the shot clock three. Baron’s +/- was a team low -9 and it’s in large part due to his slacking play in the second quarter. He did finish well, his 4th quarter break away included a prescient slow down to ensure more protection from a LeBron chase down block but he can’t keep this mentality up. When the lights are on, he still wants to play the star, but he’s not anymore.

- Gomes. Played much better than his standard stats indicate. He scored 11 points on 4 for 11 shooting and pulled down 4 rebounds. Less than amazing, but he was active on the glass, tipping early rebounds to teammates. On top of which, he made some good shots. Hope it continues.

- Al-Farouq. He’s getting way better on D, he had two blocks and forced his cover into bobbling the ball, in addition to shooting 4 for 4 from the field. I don’t like the fact that he only had one rebound, as he’s the Clippers best wing rebounder, he needs to focus on this part of his game more. It’s what separates him from other small forwards on the team, because he’s been cold of late from three.

- Rotation on threes. I thought the Clippers did a lot better job challenging shots from the perimeter, a big reason the Heat shot 8 for 27 from behind the arc. I don’t know how this worked because the Heat are famous for getting their players open threes, but the Clippers managed to do it. This effort needs to continue.

- Turnovers. Only 3 in the first half, 10 overall. I was nervous about the Clippers being able to protect the ball, but when it mattered, the guarded the ball well.

- Feistiness. A way that Blake’s personality has rubbed off on the team. Baron showed this first, when he stood up to Big Z, but it was Blake’s double tech with Chalmers that really epitomized the team scrappiness. There was a hard foul on Baron, knocking his headband sideways, and Blake took exception to that (note: there was a skirmish during the play after Blake pushed Chalmers). Teams need to stick up for themselves. What made that little encounter better was Baron immediately passing to Blake on the next possession for a monster slam and as Blake ran back up the court he made sure to keep his stern eye on Mario while he chewed on his mouth-guard, preventing him from smiling.

Addendum:

Arnovitz spoke to Ryan Gomes about the strategic practices that the Clippers employed against the Heat, which explained the lack of offensive rebounding and Blake putbacks from the game. Check it:

Gomes also points out that the Clippers were particularly vigilant about their transition defense. They gave up only nine fast break points to Miami primarily because, as Gomes states, they reacted quickly when the Heat launched a shot. The Clippers are the league’s second-ranked offensive rebounding squad, and you’ve certainly seen at least one of Griffin’s monstrous putbacks — but you didn’t on Wednesday night. Against the Heat, the Clips posted a 21.4 offensive rebounding rate, far below their season average of 29.9. That’s because the Clippers wisely sacrificed a few potential offensive boards in favor of a much tighter transition D. Wise choice, and it paid dividends against the Heat, who could never get their transition attack rolling.

This game could be a franchising changing game. I’m not sure how good the Clippers themselves thought they were going into the game but a game like this can change culture. Screw next year. The Clippers just put the league on notice.

BTipton

I second this!

Jordan

Hmmm… surprised to see no comments this evening from “Kill Baron” or “I hate Davis” or “Fire Boom Dizzle.”

Most underrated part of the evening? Not one but two secretly inspirational post-game locker-room quotes.

1. Blake Griffin saying you can’t come in Staples and quote “Punk us. Not by a long shot.” That’s just plain awesome — he said it so monotone and uninflected you have to read it to see how great it is. You will not come into our house and punk us. Said by a Clipper who can back it up… possibly a sign of the apocalypse.

2. Eric Gordon saying the magical phrase “make a run.” I don’t care how far fetched a playoff berth still remains… I like that the players haven’t given up on it.

Beating Golden State in Oakland is huge. The schedule is pretty favorable until the end of the month, and then turns extremely difficult. Now is the time to make up some ground.

Timmythetooth

*franchise not franchising

Aussie Clipper

Really enjoy your previews and summations Breene, unlike a lot of these types of things it is very balanced

I was leading the call to get rid of Baron earlier in the season but the guy has been enormous the past 3 games and this “pass first” version is the cog this team needs to utilise its athleticism. Think thats the most frustrating thing about BD – we know what he is capable of but Mr Hyde is liable to turn up at any time

Thought the defensive efforts of Gomes went unnoticed a shade today but he still frustrates me no end

Rapt that the Clips are finally giving me something to cheer about down here in Oz

neiljlax

Best Clipper game I’ve ever been to. 1st qtr was rediculous.
Salute to BD for keeping up the great work of the last few weeks.
Based on the last few weeks, I thought we had a chance to at least be in this game,
but I thought it would take a monster effort by Blake and a big night by DJ.
Never imagined such a well balanced attack and shots to be falling like that. Wow!
I was buggin when they cut it to 2 late and thought we were done…and was still happy with the effort at that point, but to see them hang on and open it back up was fantastic.
Lets keep it rolling!

I wanted you to know how happy you’ve made us. We have never wanted any more than you did last night. Personally, I’ve never been more proud to be a Clippers fan. To see you guys knock off the best team in the league and do so with a full, balanced team effort was truly a blessing to see.

Blake: your enthusiasm has turned this group around. I hope you like it here in Los Angeles. We certainly like you and hope you’ll be here for the next 10+ years.
Gordon: thanks for working so hard on your game, and representing your country with pride over the summer. It’s obvious you’ve improved so much and you’ve earned yourself any accolades you receive from here, as well as a potentially huge contract.
Baron: oh Baron you can drive us crazy here in the Clippers Nation. But without you, NO WAY the Clippers win this game. When you are “on” you are one of the best PGs in the league.
DJ: big man, you’ve come so far. Your rim rattling dunks and enthusiastic play change the momentum in such a positive way. I love your game.
Gomes: thanks for being a hussling, steady and possitive influence. We need you to keep tipping those boards and hitting the open looks. Great job.
Aminu: thanks for being the exciting rook off the bench and getting it done. We are all so excited to see you develop as a player.
Bledsoe: again, thanks for being another exciting rook off the bench. You are obviously a key to the teams future. You’re incredible speed, strong defense and shot making are very impressive for a first year player.
Foye: thanks for being a strong, steady hand off the bench and hitting those open looks. You’re presence on the court has a calming influence on team.
Diogu: welcome back to the NBA. I believe you’ve earned it with hard work. Your short jumpers and big time hussle boards were extremely important last night, and we all look forward to seeing you continue to develop and hope the Clips are good for you.

Well, thanks it. You guys have made me extremely happy.

Thanks so much,

Jose

clipperbull

A beautiful tribute!

Richard

Nice tribute… I have been a Clipper fan forever.. I hope Sterling keeps these core of players together.. We have a bright future !!!

kirbs

Jaron Collins is feeling left out right at this moment lol.

Bryant

I gotta say for Collins, if you REALLY watched the game, he had two BIG offensive boards. BIG. Hats off…

Bongstradamus

Where’s Dump Davis with his diatribe about how we need to get rid of Baron now?

Lexicon Devil

The great thing about what’s happening at PG is that we know the succession plan. Even as well as Baron is playing, we know that age and injury are out there. But now we have Bledsoe waiting to take over. That block on LeBron? Oh my GAWD!

clipperbull

A big time quality win! The Clips got sloppy as the game wore on and there’s plenty of room for improvement but this team is really on the way. EJ and Bledsoe came up big at different times when the Heat were challenging. Aminou hit some clutch shots. Gomes was always around the action. Foye and Diogu did their jobs.

It was an emotional game and BD, Blake and DeAndre all had some up and down moments. They were hammering Blake all night (as usual). But the team hung together and came away with a very important win. Look out when Kaman and Cook return and the Clips have a full compliment. Six games behind Portland and rising!

2nd and 3rd were scary. All the movement stopped, we stopped working it inside…i understand they feed off energy, but until EJ seemed to figure it out I thought we were done.

Diagu is a better rebounder than I thought he’d be, he was in the mix a bunch of times. Also love that pass from DJ to Baron. If Kaman ever gets healthy he could really find his niche leading the second unit IMHO.

Grammar Man

Grammar Man… must… teach you to use… semi-colons…

http://www.clipperblog.com Breene Murphy

“Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you’ve been to college.” – Kurt Vonnegut

Grammar Man

Clever quotes… my only weakness… how did you know??

Griffin

oh the grammar police is back!! run. good job clips i think you made some laker fans become clipper bandwagons lol. i guess this means the clipper secret society fan base is no longer secret

Hiretarktheshark.com

That Baron Davis dunk just about made me poop my pants.

Metal Matty

Why almost. Let it go.

Dan S.

If we beat the Lakers on Sunday I’m going to be thinking playoffs although it will be a tough climb out of the early hole.

Newtybar

Don’t think it until after the monsterous Feb road trip.

http://hitfix.com/awardscampaign jgroove

Yes, I hate to say it, but that road trip is gonna kill us (and the Lakers fans wont be happy either, they actually have a tougher schedule on the road).

Metal Matty

Even the mighty HEAT have to get a little concerned when the other team’s PG is throwing down a Monster Jam followed by the other team’s backup PG sending your all world super star’s sheeeite outta there.

Metal Matty

What was great about this is LBJ and WADE were running at full tilt trying to dig out this win for three quarters and couldn’t get it done. WOW….. did you see some of those moves by WADE. Holy COW. And LBJ was a rocket there for a while. I can’t believe the Clips manned up and were able to hold them out. F’n AWESOME WIN!!!!

NRM

Yeah, Wade seemed to be the only one thinking “I’ll be damned if I lose to these mofos.”

Metal Matty

It actually looked like WADE was doing that “time stalling” technique that Darian Lambert used to do on the sci fi show TIME TRAX. That shit should be illegal. ….. luckily, Eric Gordon was doing the same thing. ; )

http://www.hh4law.com Deez Nutz

Man, it is so easy to dislike the Heat. First and foremost, their entire act seems to be predicated on getting superstar treatment at both ends of the floor. How many non-calls were there on Blake, and how often were LeBron and Wade complaining about one thing or the other? How could you ever watch a non-DVR’d Heat game? I forward free throws and commercials. If I could forward complaining too then I’d be all set. The other thing that bugs me about the Heat is that their ball movement involves so many kick-outs for 3. So much standing around and having one guy create a 3-point look. Borrrrring.

But enough about the Heat. Great recap (as always), Breene. I loved the Clips putting DJ on Bosh and Griffin on Big Z. Too bad DJ got suckered into the air on Bosh’s fakes. His foul trouble was a big reason the last 3 quarters looked so much different than the first. Props to Diogu and (gasp!) Jarron for being serviceable with DJ on the bench. They’re both obviously so limited but they maximized for a night at least.

Finally, the two faces of Baron kill me. He clinched the game with a fall-away 20-footer. I’m sure everyone else did what I did: “NO NO NO! Yes.” I mean, the more he makes those ill-advised shots the more he’s going to take them. You can only get so happy when one of those things falls.

I thought we needed more Farouq and Bledsoe. Simmons tweeted last night: “Deciphering Vinny Del Negro’s substitution patterns is like trying to figure out the lyrics to “Yellow Ledbetter.”” Totally agree. Haphazard at best.

neiljlax

I love Pearl Jam (especially the 1st few cd’s) but can’t stand that song!

Bledsoe gave the Clips a huge boost last night but I thought VDN was right on the money with how much he used him. EB brought great energy but was teetering on the verge of chaos as well. Bledsoe’s game has a part arsonist part fireman quality to it — he’s constantly getting in trouble only to redeem himself with his extraordinary athleticism. But if he’s on the floor for too long, it can get tricky. He’s still finding his way. I liked seeing EB out there with BD for a few minutes allowing EJ to get a breather. Farouq was great offensively but I felt a lot better with Gomes attempting to check LBJ. Big props to Vinnie. The Clippers are playing ball!

http://Lou Lou

One customer at the time Steve, they have to beat Golden State first. It is always tough on the road.

Mike Wr

+1000%. This win will lose some of its luster if the Clips are a) still celebrating and/or b) looking ahead to the Lakers when they meet Golden State Friday. I’m not a betting man but it’s a perfect example of a sandwich game. I hope it’s the new Clips who show up, play D and take it to the rim and not the ‘old’ Clips who will be distracted, have no energy, fail to play D and try to win by out-chucking GS.

Ryan

This was a GREAT team win! Eric Gordon, Blake Griffin and Braon Davis combined for 70 points, 26 rebounds, and 21 assists!

Adam

What an awesome win for the Clippers, all around. I really think you guys need to back off of Baron, and Breene your assessment of his play was quite unfair, but I’m sure we’d agree to disagree. I think one of his best moments came when he, and he alone, got Blake to back off Chalmers when they were scuffling, took him all the way back to the bench and barked at him to stop, to which Blake did. Don’t get me wrong, I’m forever grateful to what Blake has done for this team, and I know Baron hasn’t met the mark for what the franchise gave him, but that’s then and this is now, and presently Baron has had as much impact on these last few wins as Blake, or EJ. Clippernation should take note of the supposed karma behind Lebrons latest folly and learn to appreciate when players step up for their teams, even after the fans and the GM let him know that he’s clearly not wanted. Kudos to the team for a wonderful victory, so many players shined in so many different aspects last night, it was an awesome night to be a clipper fan

http://www.clipperblog.com Breene Murphy

I try very hard not to be unfair. Baron was obviously a major part of that first quarter explosion, in which I gave him his due. But he was also a large factor in the second quarter implosion, in which he had the team up by 21 when he came in and when he left it was down to 10, a large part due to his change in style of play. Baron can be a divisive topic because he rarely has a purely good or purely bad game, his passing is phenomenal but his shooting ability and shot selection are poor, at best. I’ll keep trying to be as fair as possible, that’s all I can promise.

MV22

Totally agree. Actually he’s not a bad shooter from inside 17 feet. Those 3’s drive me crazy. If he could play within himself, he could be great for this team. As it is, he’s a big part of the 8 and 3 record over the last 11 games.

http://Lou Lou

Reading different few blogs today, I realized the most of the fans do not know anything about the Pacific and Western conferences, except the Lakers. also I read what LBJ said about the Clippers

“They play really well against some of the best competition.”

Josh not Josh

Dodged a Bad Baron bullet. He cannot be hero Baron. That will lead to bad times and loading streaks. Pass first Baron who knows he is a bad outside shooter will never settle for a low % j unless the clock is running out is the Baron we all need. Thin line between love and hate.

Breene, the Chalmers/Griff incident was during a box out at the defensive end just before BD was fouled hard…check the fanhouse.com posting with the reverse angle where bg gets a nice bump on chalmers, but it all stemmed for a box out a few seconds before that…

Breene Murphy

Good to know, not sure why they didn’t show that in the Prime Ticket coverage.

JoeLuis

Great article Breene! you literally took the words out of my mouth.

The clips made some noise all over the NBA! ‘Here we are!’ loud and clear!
Even the non basketball fans co-workers are asking ‘who is blake griffin’?

this clarifyes that the New orleans/San Antonio ‘W’ was no fluke. We are actually a good, a really good team. But us true fans already knew that. (but we still wanted to hung (at one point or another).. VND, kaman, and b-diddi HA!)

How does this ‘W’ compare? (only second to the denver ‘W’ on 06 playoffs in my eyes) We clip fans have long waited for a ‘W’ like this! eventhough this is only a regular season game it had lots at stake and both teams needed to win. (clips not really, it was a good surprise especially vs the lebron/wade/bosh team)
the heat was by far the toughest team to play. they had the road win streak record onsite and they played like they wanted to win!! No excuses the Clips were a better team eventhough Wade was in my eyes, the best player outhere! the dude has Crazy sick moves!!! daimmmm!!!

i wonder what’s going through Lebron’s head? (talk about karma hu!) I wonder what’s going on in Melo’s head? (maybe LA isn’t such a bad place to work?!). Clips made noise in the NBA world indeed!

So what’s next? keep winning and earn that 8th spot! put blake on All-star game and oh, Actually.. first its beat the warriors on friday! assuming they stay humble and well headed we should take that ‘w’ then on to staples again to play the Lakers!! yea! im down for that one!

reading some of you guy’s comments gives me the shivers and joy! and yes breene adande dude is loco! this is by far the best team the clips have ever had, plus cap space! and mini pick! wohooo! everything looks good with the exception of DTS. If he only wrote an apology letter tot he team for some of his mistakes! it would mean much! but you never get those from the booses. oh well.

Go clips!

Dump Davis

Super result last night, of course. Griffin and Gordon were there usual excellent selves. Davis was in his “least bad” mode, but for the most part the Clippers won inspite of him, not because of him. They won in spite of his play in the second and third quarters when he was clanking away with bricks and the Clippers 21 point lead was disintegrating down to 2. Davis then got benched, and then the Clippers started rebuilding their lead. When Davis came back at 8:37 of the fourth, the Clippers by then were back up by eight and held on to win by six.
That’s the real Davis.

It’s interesting how all the teams in recent games have allowed the Clippers to score big in the first quarter, then they adjust their defense and then the Clippers can’t do much of anything the rest of the game. This expecially is true of Davis. All the teams start the game basically not guarding him and sagging off of him onto Griffin, and the result is always good for Davis and for the Clippers. Then the treams adjust, and the Clippers tread water the rest of the way while Davis starts sinking, sometimes taking the team with him but sometimes not. This has been going on since the Philadellphia game, where Doug Collins said they made an adjustment in their pick and roll defense (they weren’t guarding Davis at the start) in the second half and then controlled the paint from then on.

A person would think that teams would eventually start out playing the type of defense they end up switching to after not guarding Davis and allowing the Clippers to have big first quarters.

But regardless of how he plays after the first quarter, Davis had been far more energized in the first quarter than ever before in his two and a half seasons here. Obviously, that is a clear indication that he was dogging it for most of the games before this recent stretch. What’s that say about him? It says he’s basically at his true inner nature a dog. That’s what he will be like most of the time for the next two and a half years too. The dog will be back in full dog-mode by the end of February.

Don’t forget the Clippers beat the Celtics and Lakers last year, and they still were a bottom tier team. The best way the Clippers can become a top tier team next year is to dump Davis this year. This is probably the mnost trade value (if any) he will ever have.

ghost_ride

Least bad mode, haha.

Problem is, the Clips need a 3rd option. BD isn’t efficient, but he’s effective for us when he wants to be simply because he’s a ballhawk and defenses have to account for him when he’s a part of the offense. He also has the stones to create shots during our offensive lulls.

Everyone wants to talk about his great first quarter and poor second quarter, but how about the steady play in the 4th and some of the big shots he hit when we really needed them.

This isn’t a guy who’s been a mediocre player hanging around his entire career, he’s a talented player with All-Star type back class who’s had motivational issues behind a poor supporting cast in L.A. Now that he has some horses behind him, he’s got another shot to prove his worth while Bledsoe is giving good minutes off the bench.

In this recent win streak, he’s proven very valuable to the team not only for his stats but his veteran leadership. Let’s see if he can keep it up. No one argues that we need this guy right now, whether that be inspired, Good, or “least bad mode” Baron.

clipperbull

Exactly.

RL

To sum up Dump Davis’ long post: the Clips would have won by 20+ points had Baron not played, and the Clips went 4v5 against the Heat. Is that about right, sir?

Griffin

Lol mofos yeah wade was like hell no but eric gordon was like hell yes as he pumped faked and sent dwade flying as he calmly shot the three lol

Griffin

sorry menat that for an earlier comment. the clippers have to rely on baron for now becuz once they block the paint when kaman and cook come back just dish it out to them for the shot, and cook has played his best nba career here hes taking to the rack and shooting the three effectively but he and other clippers are playing better like dj. does the blake effect really influence the whole team to become better wow i love this kid he make players around him better way to go blake

Dump Davis

Here’s the latest all-star voting at forward. Griffin has passed Nowitzki and Duncan but still is a distant fourth. The solution is to put Gasol and Duncan on the team as centers, then Griffin and Nowitsk should be added at forward. Nobody listed on the ballot at center deserves to be on the all-star team. One real shame is that Gordon isn’t among the top nine at guard.

The supporting cast was excellent last night and that likely was the big difference. In particular, Aminu was 4-4 (including a three) and Diogu was 3-6 with 4 rebounds. Others were good too, each in their own way. Everybody together won the game in spite of Davis’ brick chucking in the second and third quarters.

Ditch Dump Davis

You’re so effin ridiculous…

AfishLClipp

Agreed, dude just has to say it bc that’s the name he chose and now he feels he has to conjure up some nonsense to justify himself. Here’s the reality that dump Davis forgets to realize always, when baron is healthy he balls, plain and simple. U can’t blame a guy for injuries and that kind of thing is truely unpredictable.

20pts 9 assists and he’s still complaining HAHA

Ditch Dump Davis

You’re so effin ridiculous…

Mrwilleeeum

I like how Wade gets hurt because he tries pulling gordon’s arm to try and get past him. Good win.

Mrwilleeeum

I like how Wade gets hurt because he tries pulling gordon’s arm to try and get past him. Good win.

dump davis

i hate myself

Griffin

you shouldn’t hate yourself dump davis love yourslef so others will love you and its ok to put baron down once in awhile but be a clipper fan first and a baron davis hater second

http://crimelaw crimelaw

Clips desperately need a guy to come off the bench to score when Gordon goes to the bench. The lack of that kind of player is one reason the second team suffers when they come in.Foye is clearly not the answer.My suggestion is to trade Kamen -if he ever gets over his life threatening ankle injury-to the Pistons who need a big man(& Kamen is from Michigan) for Ben Gordon( who the Piston’s are not happy with).I believe their salaries are somewhat comparable,& I think that it’s a trade that would actually be possible unlike some of the others suggested.

clipperbull

Gordon would be an insane pickup for the Clips. Perfect really. His only problem is he has trouble defensively in that he’s an undersized 2. But he would create great spacing and he’d be excellent in combo with Blake.

MV22

I’d rather we trade him to the Pistons for Tayshaun Prince. Their SF position is their weakest. Prince would be a great mentor for Aminu and between the two of them we’d have an excellent SF position. One of the reasons we beat the Heatles was that Ryan Gomes had one of his better games and Aminu was good off the bench. Between the 2 of them we got 20 points. That’s rarely the case. Gomes is averaging 7 point per game. Not acceptable for a SF in the NBA. Prince (and there are a few others SF’s we could potentially trade Kaman for) is closer to 15 and he plays great defense.

http://aol ClipperMarc

+ 1 Aminu is improving each game. Gordon would be our shooter off the bench.

Griffin

how they play different positions and gordon is a more consistent 3pt shooter than aminu is

AznFan

I don’t think we should trade for ben gordon for the simple fact that we already have eric gordon. They both have similar skillsets and I don’t want another guard to eat into EG minutes. It doesn’t make sense to pay an undersize backup 2 guard the type of money BG is making. We need a more balance roster. I rather get good starting SF for Kaman. However, I think we should at least play this season out before making any trades. The current roster is gelling and Kaman could be the xfactor to the Clippers future success. It is hard to get a stretch center that can also postup(sometimes) as well.

Neiru

Great win. It not like the Heat were playing bad. They were playing really good, but we just out played them. We never let them take the lead. Very impressive effort. This has to boost the guys confidence. We should not play down to lesser teams..something we do at times.

clipperkid

Gerald Wallace would be a GREAT addition at SF for the Clips.

Dump Davis

Trading Kaman for Ben Gordon is one of the worst ideas I’ve heard here. No way do the Clippers compete for a championiship without a good center. Kaman is as good as a center as there is in the Western conference. That means far more in the playoffs than it does in the regular season.

Ben Gordon? Trade one of the best centers in the west for an undersized 2 who has done nothing of significance at all in Detroit? And you think that will make the Clippers better?

Do you know what San Antonio, Dallas, the Lakers, the Heat and the Magic would do to the Clippers in a seven game play-off series if Jordan was the starting center and Kaman was traded for Ben Gordon? Most likely turn it into a four game series.

The excellent combo with Griffin is Kaman.

clipperbull

I like Kaman and if he can get healthy, he’ll be a great addition. DJ is playing fantastic ball. But Kaman brings something altogether different and his game is well suited for the playoffs. Still, he’s been out for a long time and there’s no doubt that the Clippers could benefit from reliable, off-the-bench scoring. Ben Gordon has been lost in Detroit but was great in Chicago. He would spread the court and give Blake more room to operate. The Pistons also have Prince and Hamilton that they are looking to unload. Any one or combo of these guys could help the Clippers (plus they know how to win). Jeff Green on OKC would be a nice player as well. Once again, if Kaman returns healthy, there are obvious benefits for the Clippers but there are also trades to make with teams that have players who can jump in and contribute immediately.

Griffin

i have to disagree i know trading kaman for a small 2 guard is nuts but dj compliments blake better than kaman. They are both athletic amd kaman is not, he is a half court set guy not a full court transition guy which the clips are. he would be good coming off the bench and when you want to spread the floor and trade defense for offense but that’s it

Dump Davis

There’s a comment above that purports to be from me but wasn’t . . . just to be clear. No offense taken.

Dump Davis

One of the many interesting things about the Clipper-Heat game is that it seems to have exposed a weakness in the heat that most people thought was there in the beginning but hasn’t shown up lately, until the Clipper game. The Heat do not have a center who’s an offensive threat, and Bosh is not really a power forward but a large small forward. They also do not have a true starting point guard. The Clippers focused there game through an excellent power forward and had good results. I’m guessing other teams with strong power forwards and good centers and good point guards (Celtics, Spurs, Mavs, Lakers except at point guard) will exploit that in ways most teams have not been able to do.

JoeLuis

Agreed. They’re gona get eatten alive at playoffs by Celtics because of what you just noted, especially in playoffs when refs let teams play and none of that 2free throw mini fouls that wade and lebron are getting away with in reg season.

http://crimelaw crimelaw

I suspect LeBron knows more about basketball than the person who pretended to be DumpDavis. He says in today’s Times that Blake & DeAndre form “the most athletic frontcourt in the league”. Kamen gets dunked more than any center in the league & can’t defend the lane. He gets pushed around by every center & power forward. On offense, he can’t finish at the rim. In short, he’s virtually useless against any of the teams that would be considered a contender. It’s no coincidence that the Clippers have substantially improved since DeAndre has gotten more minutes because of Kamen’s yearly injury vacation & has matured into a legitimate force. Please, get rid of this talented but wussy enigma & get anything useful in return.

clipperbull

It comes as no surprise but I have to say, I agree with Adam’s comments earlier. Baron Davis has been instrumental in the resurgent Clippers yet I feel Breene and others often hold him to a higher and unfair standard. I’m not trying to defend the last two years when almost nothing was working for this team or the first few games of this season where one can take the position that Baron was either out of shape or injured. The point I’m making is that since he came back from his injury, he has played excellent basketball and from that moment on, the team has taken off.

For the most part, BD has played the game exactly the right way. If penetration is available early in the game he penetrates. If he can get out in transition and run, he pushes the tempo. If the second half turns into a grind than Baron works more through Gordan in half court sets. Somehow Baron is getting criticized for changing style or tempo when in fact the other team is making adjustments and Baron is taking what the defense gives. By the way, these are good teams. No one could possibly have thought that the Clippers were going to maintain a 20 point margin on the Heat or that Atlanta wasn’t going to show up in the second half.

As for BD’s shot selection and “hero” mode, it’s a very precise chemistry that is being demanded. At times Baron needs to facilitate and that’s enough. Early in this successful stretch for the Clippers, Baron seemed content to distribute and leave the scoring to others. But that’s not going to work against the elite teams. If defenses are merely required to focus on Blake and Gordon, the Clippers are going to run out of options, particularly in the 4th quarter when the game tightens. Baron’s game has matured but he’s always played with emotion and intuition and during his best years, it served him well. He’s not afraid to take the big shot and he’s capable of making them.

Davis seems very aware of what his role on this team is. Blake and Gordon are the first two options. Still there are times when Baron needs to assert himself. He’s taking a few bad shots a game. But he’s also making a few in critical moments. Most importantly, he’s running the team effectively and the Clips are winning.

There is a great opportunity right now for the Clippers to make a significant run and for Baron to prove that when he is surrounded by the right players he can deliver as a leader. Hopefully we as fans can allow him to get out from under the microscope and stop dissecting his every mistake.

Metal Matty

Amazingly good post by Clipperbull. I couldn’t agree more. The magnifying glass is on Baron and he put it there himself but we gotta get real. Full castration of BD is not going to take this team anywhere this year or next (Assuming we play the season.) Davis’s “bad shots” right now are really only “sorta bad”. It’s like, “hmm, seems like he coulda got something better based on the way he is playing”, rather than what it was for a while which was, “WTF is he doing?”. …. but most of all I agree with Clipperbull in that BD seems to EXACTLY understand his role and what he can do for this team. It may be short lived. But based on the last several games, that is the only unbiased conclusion that can be drawn. … defensively, I don’t know…. but just speaking of offense… yeah, he gets it.

Jambir

I really dont mind BD being assertive offensively, and agree the team is better for it most of the time. I dont even hate him when he shoots a three within the context of the offense(a swing pass or something though he doesnt make it a 3rd of the time), but my beef with Davis comes when he stands out there and dribbles it between his legs for 5+ seconds then shoots an off balanced three. I have trouble ever cheering for him because I know this situation will manifest itself EVERY SINGLE GAME. It isn’t even that he doesn’t make this shot close to 20% of the time, its that it exudes the selfishness I’ve come to expect from him the last couple years. If he would eliminate just this one shot for from is repertoire for an extended period of I could almost imagine myself being happy we have him…

http://Lou Lou

Assuming Carmelo Anthony will refuse to sign a three-year, $65 million contract with the Nets, do you know if the Clippers have approached the Nuggets -Anthony for a potential trade. I understand that he does not want to come to West Coast but it is a significant amount of money.

I’d like to see what Kaman can do when he comes back. My worry though is that he was a centerpiece of the offense last year. This year, Griffin and Gordon are going to handle the scoring load.

IF BIG IF Kaman can adjust and gel with this group there are going to be many times that having an offensive center can be a big help over what DJ can offer.

The ability to throw different looks at the opponent would be important.

Here is an example: now that Houston has Chuck Hayes playing the C, you put in Kaman. He should be able to get 25 points without too much problem and has the height to clog the middle on the other end. Teams like Philly, the Wizards, Nets, Portland, Golden State, etc then I think Kaman should be able to exploit the relative lack of size and strength of the opponent.

However when playing against teams with bigs that are scorers such as Memphis, Lakers, Orlando, Celtics, Chicago etc then I think DJ would be an extremely valuable to guard the paint and force the opponent to shoot outside.

It would be great to have them as a tandem and rotate them depending upon who is on the court.

Dump Davis

The real Davis will return from hiding by the end of February. So the best thing to do is dump him now while whatever trade value he has is at its highest. The Davis now is sort of like some guy that’s in rehab doing whatever the fixers say he has to do and pretending he’s changed his evil ways. Won’t last. Davis’ real narcissistic, sabotaging, passive-aggresive nature that we’ve all seen so often for the last two and a half seasons will re-emerge soon. It alway does.

http://Lou Lou

DD
Davis in January is like a movie about the Titanic, everybody knows what will happen at the end of the movie.